Force ennemie
Author | John Antoine Nau |
---|---|
Language | French |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publication date | 1903 |
Publication place | France |
Media type | |
Awards | Prix Goncourt |
Force ennemie (1903; English: Enemy Force) is a novel by French author John Antoine Nau. It won the inaugural Prix Goncourt in 1903.[1]
In 2010, Michael Shreve adapted it into English as Enemy Force.[2]
Plot summary
[edit]The main character is a poet who mysteriously wakes up in a rubber room, locked away in a lunatic asylum, apparently at the request of a relative, due to alcoholism or perhaps jealousy.[3][1] He becomes possessed by an "alien force" from another planet, Kmôhoûn, whose crazy voice is constantly screaming in his head.[3][1] He then falls in love with a female inmate, Irene, but she leaves, and so he follows her to the ends of the earth, while the alien force cohabits his body.[3][1]
Critical reception
[edit]The novel won the inaugural Prix Goncourt in 1903.[1] It was only a mediocre success, but it did not prevent the president of the academy, Joris-Karl Huysmans, to say much later: "It is still the best we have crowned". In 1906, Paul Léautaud said "The Prix Goncourt has really only been given once—the first time to Nau".[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Nau, John Antoine Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Michael Shreve website.
- ^ Michael Shreve. Enemy Force, Hollywood Comics, 2010. ISBN 978-1-935558-49-1
- ^ a b c d "Enemy Force and The Emerald Eyes", from The Brooklyn Rail InTranslation, August 2009.
External links
[edit]- Excerpt from Enemy Force, from The Brooklyn Rail InTranslation, August 2009.